This past weekend the Disney Parks Blog hosted a free meet-up for hundreds of fans at Walt Disney World’s DisneyQuest arcade for some video game challenges, photo opportunities, and a few snacks before sending everyone to the Downtown Disney AMC theater to see an advance screening of “Wreck-It Ralph,” the newest film from Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Though the event began early on a Saturday morning, fans were no less excited, some even showing up in costume, lined up before 9 a.m. outside DisneyQuest, eager to get their game on. And after a couple hours of Pac-Man, air hockey, and even a bit of Fix-It Felix Jr. (amongst many other games), the movie itself was met with high praise from all in attendance.

Video: “Wreck-It Ralph” Disney Parks Blog meet-up at DisneyQuest

I’ve already shared my initial thoughts about the excellent film “Wreck-It Ralph” on Show 394, but will wait to see it again before writing a review here. Until then, here’s a closer look at the meet-up:

The event began outside DisneyQuest at Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney, where wristbands were handed out along with Wreck-It Ralph medals, a key plot element in the film. Some fans even showed up dressed as Fix-It Felix, one of the movie’s four main characters:

Inside, a giant statue of Wreck-It Ralph made a great photo op throughout the morning:

An artist spent the morning working on chalk art of Ralph:

A side area of DisneyQuest was made over into “Game Central Station” featuring several Fix-It Felix Jr. arcade machines, a game created for the film and of utmost importance to its story. Attendees had a chance to spend as much time as they wanted playing:

I ended up with a high score of 28,600 on one of the machines, which was still standing by the time I left a couple hours later. If you see the initials RBB, that’s me!

Special cupcakes were available for purchase, with layered flavors inside and a Wreck-It Ralph chocolate medallion on top:

Gaming competitions were also available on a variety of arcade machines, including the 4-player head-to-head Pac-Man. Winners later received T-shirt prizes.

LEGO building activities were also set up within DisneyQuest, themed to “Wreck-It Ralph”:

In the end, all meet-up attendees filed into three separate theaters within the AMC Downtown Disney 24 and were treated to a first look in person at the Wreck-It Ralph character who will begin appearing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on October 28, along with Vanellope Von Schweetz. (The pair will begin appearing at Disneyland two days sooner on October 26.)

No electronic devices were allowed into theaters, so no attendees were able to snap photos of the character. But the Disney Parks Blog has released their own recap of the event, complete with a first look at the character:

This free meet-up was enjoyed by all, offering a chance for friends to get together, have some gaming fun, and see a fantastic new movie from Walt Disney Feature Animation. It’s one of many similar meet-ups the Disney Parks Blog has held, reason enough to regularly read the official site to not miss out on similar opportunities in the future.

“Wreck-It Ralph” officially smashes its way into theaters on November 2, 2012.

More photos from the Wreck-It Ralph meet-up:
(Photos by Michael Gavin)

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Based in Orlando, Florida, Inside the Magic was launched in 2005 by Ricky Brigante. The Inside the Magic podcast has since become the longest-running Disney podcast in the world, with a new show having been released every week since its inception.

InsideTheMagic.net still features our weekly podcast covering Disney and all theme park topics, also reaching out to grand openings, special events, conventions, travel, movies, and other pop culture excitement with exclusive interviews, news, high-quality videos, photos, reviews, and much more.